Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
